Time To Recall Beneful Dog Food? Where We Are Now…

Rumors first began to flare about Beneful pet products in the Summer of 2012. A lot of dogs regularly feeding on the popular Purina brand–which is packaged as an upscale dog food–had developed serious health issues. The various internet boards were burning up with tales of dying pets whose troubles began with a Beneful diet. That wasn’t too surprising to veteran pet owners, though, since Beneful products had been associated with bloating since at least 2010. We still had to be careful with hearing these reports, though, since pet deaths via Beneful have popped up as a (seeming) urban legend back in 2007. (Here’s the official statement from Purina back then.)

It wasn’t long before concerned pet owners were doing their own research into what Purina was serving in those classy Beneful packaging. The results weren’t pretty. Even worse, the reports of dying pets covered the scope of the Beneful brand, including lines like Playful Life, Healthy Radiance, and Healthy Weight, and Playful Life. (The dry foods seem to be the most often cited problem, but not exclusively.)

The past few months have gone on to see a dramatic spike in reports of pet deaths related to a Beneful diet. It’s certainly been troubling to see Purina fail to address the reports even as internet outrage grew. ConsumerAffairs.com currently has over 200 complaints from outraged pet owners about the Beneful brand. There hasn’t been any movement on a recall, though, and now pet owners are seeking to stir up a grassroots movement to bring the attention to the public. We already know Beneful has awful ratings from our beloved DogFoodAdvisor.com. Now, we’re thinking that it’s only getting harder for Purina to make a case for some kind of mass hysteria among dog owners. Stay tuned for further developments, which hopefully won’t grow even more grim for pet owners…